MIAMI – He chose not to carve metaphors from the results of one swing. He hesitated to treat those results as confirmation that his career still has legs, that his bat still has pop.

The ball Jason Bay hit over the green center-field wall in the Mets’ 5-1 victory at Marlins Park on Sunday afternoon possessed meaning, certainly, but not more meaning than the 209 other pitches he has hit out of major league ballparks.

“If this was Game 6 of the World Series or something, maybe,” Bay said.

He used a two-word phrase to take weight of his first-inning grand slam – “small victories” – but the scale he used was turning out phony numbers. This was a big victory for both Bay and the Mets.

After spending weeks idling on the bench, Bay and his bat helped the Mets complete a road sweep of Miami.

The Mets had not gone to the broom closet since June 20, when they put the wraps on a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles. More significant: They added another victory to the pile. The club has won seven of its past nine games, rattling off three straight series victories in the process.

“I think it’s important that they keep winning,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “It’s important they know they can go out and get the job done.”

On Sunday afternoon, Bay shouldered the offense, heavy lifting for an outfielder who entered the game hitting .152. His team already up 1-0, the bases loaded, Bay set his feet in the batter’s box for the first time in over a week.

Bay had started just two of the team’s past 12 games. He had only six at-bats since Aug. 19. And yet, there was little rust.

Bay let Miami starter Mark Buehrle’s first pitch go. He hit the second pitch over the 392-foot sign.

Bay circled the bases, smiling only after he touched home plate. Every teammate put up an open palm, offering Bay a receiving line of high-fives.

“Everybody’s rooting for him,” Collins said. “So when he has a game like today, you are really excited.”

It was his fifth career grand slam. It was his first home run since mid-August. And it put the Mets ahead, 5-0, before the bottom of the first.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, the way things have been going, [it’s] very gratifying,” Bay said. “But at the same time, I also feel like I’ve done like things like that before. It’s not like it was this revelation. It was like, OK, I’ve done that. It’s just taking that and being able to repeat it.”

Staked to a five-run lead, Mets starter Chris Young (4-7) responded with five innings of one-run ball. His pitch count kept climbing, hitting 94 after that fifth inning, forcing Collins to turn the ball to his bullpen.

Four relievers gobbled up one scoreless inning apiece to preserve the win. But the day belonged to Bay. Benched a few weeks back, he still is attempting to treat his situation as the new normal.

“I understand a little bit more of how to prepare,” Bay said. “But at the same time, when you’ve started for nine years, it still feels a little different. I kind of feel like I’m adapting.”

For one day, there was no need to adapt. He hit a grand slam. The Mets swept the Marlins.